Carrier for an individual sample cell

ABSTRACT

A sample cell carrier receives an optical sample cell directly in a pre-determined alignment, and is inserted without intermediate parts into a carrier slide.

iied States Eeni 15 3,692,416

Tax-bet 1 Sept. 19, 1972 CARRIER FOR AN INDIVIDUAL [56] References CitedSAMPLE CELL UNITED STATES PATENTS [72] Inventor: Cecil Sidney CharlesTarbet, Cambridge, England 2,200,053 5/1940 Brown et al ..350/95 X m3,501,242 3/1970 Demey et a1 ..356/246 [73] Assignee: Cecil InstrumentLtd., Cambrid 3,503,665 3/1970 Carter ..350/95 England PrimaryExaminer-Ronald L. Wibert [22] Flled 1970 Assistant Examiner-Orville B.Chew, ll [21] Appl. No.: 78,122 Attorney-Hall & Houghton [30] ForeignApplication Priority Data [57] ABSTRACT A sample cell carrier receivesan optical sample cell 1969 Great Bmam "49161/69 directly in apre-determined alignment, and is inserted without intermediate partsinto a carrier slide. [52] U.S. Cl ..356/244 [51] Int. Cl. ..G01n 1/2814 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures [58] Field of Search ..350/92, 95; 356/244,246;

PATENTED 19 3.692.416

sum 1 or 3 ATTORNEY PATENTED SEP 19 1912 SHEET 2 [1F 3 CARRIER FOR ANINDIVIDUAL SAMPLE CELL This invention relates to a carrier for anindividual sample cell for optical equipment.

According to the present invention a carrier for an individual samplecell in optical equipment comprises a support plate against which oneface of a rectangular sample cell may be engaged and including stops forthe location of two faces of the cell adjacent to the said one face todetermine the position of the cell along three co-ordinate axes, and aleaf spring secured to the plate to extend generally parallel to theplane thereof to hold a sample cell inserted between the spring and theplate firmly against the latter.

Conveniently one edge of the plate is flanged to provide support andlocation between a cell, and an adjacent edge is formed with lugs tolocate an adjacent cell edge. The lugs may be constituted by pressed-outportions of the plate. The flange may include a portion extending atright angles to the plane of the plate. In one embodiment of theinvention, the spring may be slit to define corresponding retaining andlocation portions, so that one part of the spring grips the cell againstthe plate while the second part of the spring slips behind the rear faceof the cell. Conveniently the slit in the spring extends parallel to thelugs when these are provided. Multiple slits may be formed in the springto correspond to cells of various path lengths.

The carrier is normally used in combination with a multi-position cellslide, and interengaging locating means may be provided to simplifyregistration. Also, the leaf spring may be adapted to locate the carrierand cell correctly in the compartments of the slide.

Preferably the slide is open-topped to facilitate insertion and removalof the carriers, and a lip may then be provided for reasons of lightexclusion.

The invention will now be described in greater detail with reference tothe accompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a sample carrier constructed in accordance withthe invention;

FIG. 2 is an end view taken on the direction of the arrow II in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a multi-position cell slide for use inconjunction with the carrier of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a side view, partly in section taken on the direction of thearrow IV in FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is an end view, again partly sectioned, taken on the direction ofthe arrow V in FIG. 4, and showing the location of a carrier in theslide;

and with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, which are views of a secondembodiment of a second sample carrier in accordance with the invention,corresponding to FIGS. 1 and 2.

The cell carrier illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 comprises a support plate1 having its lower end 1a bent upwardly to form a flange and formed onone edge with a pair of lugs lb bent in the same direction as the flangela. The upper end of the support plate is formed at one edge of theplate with a downwardly depending hook 1e for location purposes. A leafspring 2 of phosphorbronze material is spot-welded to the plate 1 sothat its body lies in parallel spaced relation to the plate. Thedistance between the spring and the plate is sufficient to accomodate asample cell C. The spring is slit upwardly to the line of the lugs lb toform a number of tongues 2d. It will be seen that when the cell C islocated against the flange la and the lugs lb it is retained against theplate by the tongue 2a while the tongue 2b slides behind the rear faceof the cell to prevent its movement away from the lugs. The multipletongues permit the use of sample cells of different path lengths whilemaintaining the dual gripping and locating function of the spring. Aprotuberance 2e seen at the upper end of the leaf spring enables asingle spring to act also to locate the carrier in a sample slide aswill be described below.

The slide illustrated in FIGS. 3 to 5 of the drawings consists of a topplate 3 of shallow channel form, which supports a carrier-receivingbasket 4. This basket con sists of a back plate 5 having a normallyextending base portion 5a, dividers 6 being provided to sub-divide thebasket into four compartments. Each compartment includes an aperture 5bin the back plate 5 for the passage of light and the member 5 projectsabove the plate of the member 3 and is slotted at BC to provide forlocating engagement with the portions 1c of corresponding cell carriers.In use, as shown in FIG. 5, a cell carrier can be inserted into theslide from above, until the portion 10 is fully engaged in acorresponding slot 5c, The cell C is then held in the correctrelationship with the remainder of the equipment in which the slide isinstalled. The slide is provided with the normal traversing rod 7 andwith a detent 8 which traverses a notched block 9 secured to the housing10 of the machine to index the traversing movement of successiveapertures 5b across the optical path of the instrument.

FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate a modified form of cell carrier which has beendeveloped as an alternative to the carrier illustrated in the earlierfigures. The reference numbers in FIG. 6 and 7 correspond to those usedin the earlier figures, with the addition of indices, and a completedescription is unnecessary. The principal points of difference arefirstly that the spring 2 is riveted to the support plate 1 instead ofbeing spotwelded, secondly that the spring 2 is not slotted, thirdlythat the protuberance 2e is replaced by two bowed portions 2e separatedfrom the main body of the spring 2 by corresponding parallel slits, andfourthly that the flange la is extended at la" to provide an extendedplatform to support the sample cell. The general method of use of themodified sample cell carrier, is its co-operation with the basket and isidentical with that described with reference to the first embodiment. Itwill be appreciated that any one or more of the points referred to abovecould be employed separately in the first embodiment.

The carrier illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7 is used in conjunction with acell slide similar to that shown in FIGS. 3-5, but without the slots 50.It has been found that the bowed portions 2e of the spring 2 aresufficient to give adequate lateral registration of the carrier withinthe slide.

It will be seen that the carriers described above enable a sample cellto be accurately but simply positioned in the interior of opticalapparatus by direct access from outside the apparatus. Furthermore, thenumber of loose parts necessary for operation is kept to a minimum.Light leakage into the apparatus can be dealt with by means of a simplecovering lid, which can be hinged to the apparatus to avoid loss.

lclaim:

l. A sample cell carrier comprising: a. a support plate, said supportplate having as elemerits l. a flat cell-engaging surface, 2. a firststop means, and 3. a second stop means, said elements defining abutmentspositioned for engaging three adjacent and orthogonal faces of arectangular sample cell, and said sample cell carrier further comprisingb. a cell retaining leaf spring, said leaf spring being 1. secured tosaid plate and 2. extending in generally parallel spaced relation tosaid surface.

2. A sample cell carrier as claimed in claim 1 wherein said leaf springis slit thereby defining corresponding cell-retaining and cell-locatingregions thereof.

3. Apparatus of the class described including a receptacle containing atleast one sample cell carrier as claimed in claim 1.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3 wherein said receptacle is amulti-position cell slide.

5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 4 wherein said slide is open-topped.

6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 5 wherein said slide is provided with aremovable light-excluding lid.

7. A sample cell carrier as claimed in claim 2,

wherein said leaf spring is slit at a plurality of locations therein.

8. A sample cell carrier as claimed in claim I, wherein said plate has aflange projecting from one of its edges and constituting said first stopmeans, and a pair of lugs extending from an adjacent one of its edgesand constituting said second stop means.

9. A sample cell carrier as claimed in claim 8, wherein said plate haspressed out portions constituting said lugs.

10. A sample cell carrier as claimed in claim 8, wherein said flange hasa flat portion lying perpendicular to said surface.

11. A sample cell carrier as claimed in claim 1, wherein said carrierfurther comprises carrier locating means positioned for engagement witha cell slide.

12. A sample cell carrier as claimed in claim 1, wherein said leafspring further comprises abutment means engageable with a cell slide.

13. A sample cell carrier as claimed in claim 12, wherein said abutmentmeans comprises a domed protuberance.

14. A sample cell carrier as claimed in claim 12, wherein said abutmentmeans comprises at least one bowed portion defined by correspondingslits.

1. A sample cell carrier comprising: a. a support plate, said supportplate having as elements
 1. a flat cell-engaging surface,
 2. a firststop means, and
 3. a second stop means, said elements defining abutmentspositioned for engaging three adjacent and orthogonal faces of arectangulAr sample cell, and said sample cell carrier further comprisingb. a cell retaining leaf spring, said leaf spring being
 1. secured tosaid plate and
 2. extending in generally parallel spaced relation tosaid surface.
 2. a first stop means, and
 2. extending in generallyparallel spaced relation to said surface.
 2. A sample cell carrier asclaimed in claim 1 wherein said leaf spring is slit thereby definingcorresponding cell-retaining and cell-locating regions thereof. 3.Apparatus of the class described including a receptacle containing atleast one sample cell carrier as claimed in claim
 3. a second stopmeans, said elements defining abutments positioned for engaging threeadjacent and orthogonal faces of a rectangulAr sample cell, and saidsample cell carrier further comprising b. a cell retaining leaf spring,said leaf spring being
 4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3 wherein saidreceptacle is a multi-position cell slide.
 5. Apparatus as claimed inclaim 4 wherein said slide is open-topped.
 6. Apparatus as claimed inclaim 5 wherein said slide is provided with a removable light-excludinglid.
 7. A sample cell carrier as claimed in claim 2, wherein said leafspring is slit at a plurality of locations therein.
 8. A sample cellcarrier as claimed in claim 1, wherein said plate has a flangeprojecting from one of its edges and constituting said first stop means,and a pair of lugs extending from an adjacent one of its edges andconstituting said second stop means.
 9. A sample cell carrier as claimedin claim 8, wherein said plate has pressed out portions constitutingsaid lugs.
 10. A sample cell carrier as claimed in claim 8, wherein saidflange has a flat portion lying perpendicular to said surface.
 11. Asample cell carrier as claimed in claim 1, wherein said carrier furthercomprises carrier locating means positioned for engagement with a cellslide.
 12. A sample cell carrier as claimed in claim 1, wherein saidleaf spring further comprises abutment means engageable with a cellslide.
 13. A sample cell carrier as claimed in claim 12, wherein saidabutment means comprises a domed protuberance.
 14. A sample cell carrieras claimed in claim 12, wherein said abutment means comprises at leastone bowed portion defined by corresponding slits.